I See Your Smile
by Always Hopeful
Summary: ONESHOT! COMPLETE! All she has to do is see his smile and her life is brightened up.


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter or the song, which is sung by Gloria Estefan. Savvy?**

**A/N: I thought another fluffy one-shot was in order. What do you all say?**

**I See Your Smile…**

"What do you think, Minerva?" The woman in question snapped out of her personal thoughts as she looked up at her friend and employer, Albus Dumbledore. She mentally bereted herself for staring at those blue orbs of his and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, Albus. What-what was the, erm, question?" Albus noted how Minerva's voice wavered slightly and barely suppressed a frown, choosing not to say anything. Instead, his smile returned and he repeated his question.

"I said that this list of possible applicants for animagus training seems perfectly acceptable to me. And then I asked if there was anything else you wished to discuss with me before I ended this meeting between you and me?" Minerva looked down at her paperwork, though not quite seeing it, and blushed slightly. She hoped he hadn't noticed.

"No, headmaster, there is not," she mumbled, wondering why her tongue now seemed to swell up so badly that she could not speak with her usual briskness. Okay, she knew why. It was him, Albus Dumbledore.

_I get a little tongue twisted_

_Ev'ry time I talk to you_

_When I see you_

_And I'm so glad that you just missed it_

_The way I start to memorize your face_

_To kiss you in my mind_

_Love you all the time_

It seemed every time she spoke with him, she grew tongue-tied. She would literally have to force her brain to work correctly and then run as a mechanical witch would. During meetings with the rest of the staff, she would simply stare at him, when she thought no one was looking, of course, and just memorize every inch of his face. This was not necessary, of course, since she had memorized every line years ago.

What she was slightly ashamed of, however, was the fact that there were times, when she was not teaching or whenever she had a free moment, that she would simply close her eyes and imagine him walking up to her, grabbing her by both her shoulders, and just kissing her with more passion than any of those women in those blasted romance novels. She had begun reading those bloody novels lately, and they had allowed her mind to imagine things she really shouldn't be imagining. She had picked one up quite on accident from the library and before she knew it, she was hooked.

_Cuz when I close my eyes_

_I still can see your smile_

_It's bright enough to light my life_

_Out of my darkest hour_

_Please believe it's true_

_When I tell you I love you_

Albus continued to smile at her, and she blasted her knees for becoming so weak. They felt like jelly.

"Very well then, Minerva," he said. "If there is nothing you need to discuss with me I suggest we draw this meeting to a close." He shuffled some of his papers while she gathered the list she had given to him and stuck it within the folder she had brought it in.

"Right, then," she agreed. She stood up and cleared her throat. She finally forced herself to look within his eyes and return his smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Albus." She leaned over his desk to shake his hand, and paused when she caught him looking within her eyes. She froze up when she saw something in his eyes she had never really noticed before, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"Is something wrong, Minerva?" She jumped when she realized she was staring again.

"No, headmaster, nothing is wrong." She muttered something else he couldn't quite understand and left.

Ooooooooooo

Minerva collapsed upon her bed. Why didn't she just tell him and get it over with? She knew why. She didn't want to run the risk of rejection. She loved Albus so much, and yet she knew that there was no way he could ever return her love. And she would never put such a pressure upon him to love her in return. Why should she tell him?

She sat up. Why _shouldn't_ she tell him? After all, he was her best friend. And they had a strong friendship. Surly it could survive an admittance of love. If he didn't love her, then she was almost positive he would be willing to forget she had ever said anything.

Just as she had decided that she would tell him, she began to debate with herself. Would their love survive what she told him? She had already taken so many chances with love and had been hurt every single time. Dare she take that chance again? She did not know. She knew she loved him with all her heart, but could she be sure he felt the same for her?

Ooooooooooo

_I've taken too many chances_

_Searching for the true love_

_That's in my heart_

_Tell me if I've made the wrong advances_

_Tell me if I've made you feel ashamed_

_Cuz I know I have to do this_

_Would you hold my hand right through it?_

The next night was their chess night. They sat there, staring at each other from across the chess board. It seemed as though Minerva were winning once again, though there was something lacking in her usual game. It was something Albus had noticed only within the past five minutes or so, and it greatly bothered him.

It seemed to him that she had been extremely distracted within the past week. He didn't know why or what it was, but there was something bothering her. And as he thought more about it, he thought that perhaps it had something to do with him. He didn't know what he could have done, but he had the very distinct feeling he was a big part of it. What could he have done?

"Minerva, do you mind if I ask you something?" he finally asked. She looked up at him as though she had forgotten he was there. She had been concentrating on the board, or so it had seemed to him. The truth was that she was actually thinking about him, and during the thought process she had forgotten all about both him and the game.

"Oh, of coarse, Albus," she breathed, trying her absolute hardest not to blush. She cleared her throat and reached for her now cold tea. She didn't pay attention. She needed some sort of a distraction so as not to think that she had just been caught daydreaming, even if he didn't even know it himself.

"You seem to be distracted as of late, and I was rather hoping you would share with me your burden?"

"Burden?" she repeated, trying hard for the word to penetrate to her brain.

"Well, I assume it is a burden," he said. "It is a rare time indeed when you would allow something to consume your thoughts without expressing them with me. So what else could it be besides a burden?" Minerva sighed, set her tea cup on the table, and laid back. It was true. Keeping this secret was the biggest burden of her entire life, and she had known a few. She wondered if she would ever tell him about the deep feelings she harbored for him. She did not know.

"You are correct, Albus," she finally said, staring into the fireplace. "I am carrying a heavy burden. Unfortunately, this is one burden I cannot share with anyone; especially you." Albus frowned.

"You say 'especially'. Why?" Minerva's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. She had meant to say 'even you' but had accidentally said 'especially you' instead. Her mind screamed to her to cover her mistake and to do it as quickly as was humanly possible. But the question was how? Minerva looked down at her cup before she set it down.

"Well, I may have said 'especially', but what I meant to say was 'even'." Albus did not quite buy that.

_Cuz when I close my eyes_

_I still can see your smile_

_It's bright enough to light my life_

_Out of my darkest hour_

_Please believe it's true_

_When I tell you I love you_

_Oh, oh_

"Please, Minerva, tell me what is wrong," he pleaded. She looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"I-I-I-," She could not think of what to say to him. What _could_ she say to him? 'Yes, Albus, there is something. I wanted to tell you I love you, always have, and always will. You're move' just didn't seem like the way to go. Her hands were shaking now and she couldn't control them. How could he see right through her? She silently cursed him for knowing her so well.

"Minerva," he whispered. She hadn't noticed that he had stood from his seat and was now kneeling beside her. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. He took his other hand and reached for her chin, forcing her to look at him. She finally did and all was lost. "Please tell me what is wrong." Minerva's bottom lip quivered.

"I'm afraid to tell you," she whispered.

"Why? Are you afraid that I will be angry?" She nodded, attempting to blink away her tears. This only caused a few drops to fall from her eyes. "I promise I could never be angry by anything you say."

"How can you be sure?" she asked.

"Because I love you, Minerva." The silence was thick. If Minerva thought she couldn't breathe before, it was even harder to do so now. She smiled broadly and placed her hand upon his cheek.

"Albus…" Anything she was about to say was cut off by his lips upon hers. The kiss was soft at first but grew in intensity when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and her hands wind into hair. He was encouraged even more when her fingers began to massage his head and he heard her purr in her throat. He hadn't even known that was possible for her to do outside of her animagus form. They finally pulled back, both panting and with swollen lips. They smiled and rested their foreheads against each others.

"I take it you love me too?" he asked. She laughed slightly and nodded.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," she whispered. "I've loved you for so long that it seems there was rarely a time when I didn't love you. When I close my eyes, I still can see your smile. It's bright enough to light my life out of its darkest hour. Please believe it's true when I tell you I love you."

"I do believe it." And with that, he captured her lips once again.

_Had to let you know just what would happen_

_Yes, I had to let you know the truth_

_No, I've got to do this_

_Would you hold my hand right through it?_

_Would you?_

Hours later, when the fire died, the chess pieces forgotten, and their drinks cold and forgotten, Minerva and Albus lay upon his couch, both happier than they had been in a long time. Albus lay with his back against the back of the couch, holding Minerva's back flush against his chest. He reached over and picked up her hand and kissed the palm.

"I am so glad I told you," he said.

"Yes, I am too. I had to let you know the truth. And now you do." She sighed and smiled. It wasn't long before they fell asleep. It wasn't long before he was dreaming of her and she was dreaming of him.

_Cuz when I close my eyes_

_I still can see your smile_

_It's bright enough to light my life_

_Out of my darkest hour_

_Cuz when I close my eyes_

_I still can see your smile_

_It's bright enough to light my life_

_Out of my darkest hour_

_Know now this is true_

_When I tell you I love you_

_Oooooh, oh yeah_

**A/N2: This is another one that I have been working hard on. Now, I promise to work hard on one of my works in progress that is multiple chapter stories. K? I promise. Always Hopeful**


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